Electromechanical pulling device for rail-guided hangings, particularly curtains

ABSTRACT

An electromechanical device for pulling curtains or other railguided hangings comprises a driving unit which can be attached in a number of different positions to a second unit which incorporates a guide rail, a perforated endless band running in channels in the rail, and pulleys accommodated in casings at each end of the rail for reversing the direction of movement of the band between forward and return runs. The attachment is effected by means of headed bolts accomodated in resilient apertures, and by a tongue-and-slot connection between a shaft of the driving unit and the shaft of one of the pulleys. Sliders are accommodated in a channel in the rail, having parts engageable from outside the rail for supporting a curtain and further parts for engaging the holes in the band.

United States Patent [1 1 Bratschi ELECTROMECHANICAL PULLING DEVICE FOR RAIL-GUIDED HANGINGS, PARTICULARLY CURTAINS [76] Inventor: Konard Bratschi, Eigerstrasse 5,

CH-3007, Bern, Switzerland [22] Filed: July 27, 1971 [211 Appl. N0.: 166,355

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data 160/3; l6/8787.8; 64/29, 30 E, 30 D Aug. 21, 1973 Primary Examiner-David J. Williamowsky Assistant Examiner-Philip C. Kannan Attorney-Michael S. Striker [5 7 ABSTRACT An electromechanical device for pulling curtains or other rail-guided hangings comprises a driving unit which can be attached in a number of different positions to a second unit which incorporates a guide rail, a perforated endless band running in channels in the rail, and pulleys accommodated in casings at each end of the rail for reversing the direction of movement of the band between forward and return runs. The attachment is effected by means of headed bolts accomodated in resilient apertures, and by a tongue-and- [56] References Cited slot connection between a shaft of the driving unit and UNlTED STATES PATENTS the shaft of one of the pulleys. Sliders are accommo- 3 297 078 [1967 Miki 160/33] dated in a channel in the rail, having parts engageable l:274722 8/1918 E X from outside the rail for supporting a curtain and fur- 2J03'78] 12/1937 Hansonm 64/30 D x ther parts for engaging the holes in the band. 3,372,599 3/1968 Bratschi 160/331 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Claims 13 Drawing Figures 991,543 5/l965 Great Britain 160/347 5 3 3 I 41 L 33 2 u 1 1i lis 38m ELECTROMECIIANICAL PULLING DEVICE FOR RAIL-GUIDED IIANGINGS, PARTICULARLY CURTAINS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to electromechanical pulling devices for rail-guided hangings, particularly curtains, which comprise a first or driving constructional unit containing an electric motor and gearing and a second, hanging-supporting constructional unit which includes a guide rail for the hanging and contains an endless pulling element.

Because of a rapidly increasing demand for electromechanical pulling devices, even for relatively small curtain installations, for example in private houses, officcs or studios, and because of the difficulties which have hitherto frequently occurred because of local circumstances in the installation of such pulling devices, and which may entail time-consuming adaptation work, the problem has arisen of devising a construction enabling complete constructional units of an electromechanical pulling device, ready for installation, to be assembled on the site in various ways depending on local space conditions, but nevertheless enabling them to be rapidly and simply prepared for use and also to be equally easily dismantled for inspection or repair.

SUMMARY According to the present invention, an electromechanical pulling device for rail-guided hangings, such as curtains, has a first or driving constructional unit containing an electric motor and gearing and a second, hanging-supporting constructional unit, which includes a guide rail for the hanging and contains an endless pulling element, the second constructional unit being provided at least at one end of the rail with a reversing casing containing a pulley for reversing the direction of, and driving, the pulling element, while connection means complementary to one another are disposed on said reversing casing and drive pulley on the one hand and on the driving unit on the other hand, the connection means provided on the reversing casing and drive pulley being accessible from above and from below, whereby the driving unit can be manually connected to or disconnected from the upper side or the lower side of the reversing casing, and the output shaft of the gearing can be manually connected to and disconnected from the drive pulley.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a side view of a curtain-supporting and guide device,

FIGS. 2 and 3 show respectively a partial elevation, and a plan view ofa drive unit adapted to be connected to the device shown in FIG. I,

FIGS. 4 to 7 illustrate diagrammatically various ways in which the connection can be made,

FIG. 8 is a horizontal section through the end of the curtain guide device which is to be connected to the drive unit, v

FIG. 9 is a cross-section through a part of the rail of the guide device,

FIG. is a vertical longitudinal section through a part of the rail of the guide device,

FIG. 11 is a partial plan view of the guide device, with parts in horizontal section, showing a difi'erent'form of curtain-supporting slider,

FIG. 12 is a cross-section through the rail corresponding to FIG. 11, and

FIG. 13 is a side view of the curtain-supporting slider used in the embodiment of FIGS. 11 and 12.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The electromechanical pulling device illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 10, which is intended for a rail-guided curtain or other sliding hangings, has two constructional units which can easily be plugged together. One of these units is a drive unit (FIGS. 2 and 3) which contains in a casing 1 an ordinary electric motor and reduction gearing, the output shaft 2 of the latter projecting from the casing l. The second constructional unit of the device comprises a curtain-supporting and guide rail 3 and end casings 4 and 5 disposed at the two ends of the latter (FIGS. 1 and 8). The rail 3 contains a substantially endless pulling element in the form of a perforated band 6, the holes 7 in which are disposed with uniform spacing along its longitudinal centre line. In each of the two end casings 4 and 5, the pulling band 6 passes round a respective pulley 8, 9 so as to reverse its direction of movement as between the forward run and the return run. Each of these reversing pulleys 8 and 9 is mounted by means of a respective shaft 10 and 11 perpendicular to the generally horizontal plane of movement of the band.

The drive unit can be connected by means of its casing to the reversing casing 4. The projecting noncircular driven shaft 2 can be inserted from above or below into a matching non-circular socket 12 in the shaft 10, so that the pulley 8 now serves as a rotary drive for the band 6. For this purpose, radial projections 13 on the periphery of the pulley 8 engage in the holes 7 in the band. In order to provide protection against possible overloading of the drive, the pulley 8 has an inner rim 14 which is provided with radial indentations and protuberances and in which a slipping clutch disc 15 mounted on the shaft 10 engages by means of two needle rollers 17 which are disposed parallel to the shaft axis and diametrally opposite one another and each of which is disposed on a radially resilient portion 16 of the periphery of the disc 15, so that they can be displaced inwards by the protuberances on the inner rim of the pulley 8 to allow the pulley to slip relative to the disc 15.

In order to connect the two units together, the casing l is provided, in its connection wall 18 on which the projecting output shaft 2 is disposed, with four threaded bores 19, which are disposed in pairs diametrally in relation to the shaft 2 and which are spaced apart in relation to one another. Two threaded bolts 20, having heads 21 and necks 22 of reduced diameter which project beyond the wall 18, are selectively screwed into one or the other pair of the bores 19, which are parallel to the shaft 2. For the purpose of receiving the heads 21 there are provided, in the reversing casing 4, two apertures 23 (FIG. 8) which extend right through the casing 4 parallel to the axis of the reversing pulley 8 and which both extend over part of a common are of a circle around the axis of the pulley. Each of these apertures 23 is provided in its middle portion with a constriction which engages below the head 21 of a bolt 20 and whose width is defined by projecting portions 24 of the walls of the aperture, projecting towards one another, the width being slightly less than the thickness of the reduced neck portions 22 of the bolts 20. When the casing 1 is connected to the casing 4 the heads 21 of the bolts are in each case pushed axially through a portion of the apertures 23 whose width is not reduced, and the output shaft 2 also penetrates into the socket 12 in the shaft 10. The casing l is then turned manually about the axis of shaft 10 until the necks 22, displacing as necessary the projecting wall portions 24 (which are preferably made of plastics material) enter the constriction and are in each case engaged in axial grooves 25 provided in the projecting portions 24.

The casing 1 can in this manner be connected from above or below to the casing 4 so as to be firmly attached thereto but capable of being disconnected manually. If the threaded bolts 20 are not in the required position in relation to the apertures 23, they merely have to be screwed into the other pair of threaded bores 19 in the casing wall 18. This provides the four possible connections for the casing 1 which are illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 7. These four connections could be made on the top or bottom of the reversing casing 4. The casing 4 could also be mounted at the other end of the rail 3, so that the above described construction provides in a very simple manner a total of 16 different possibilities for the assembly of the two constructional units, so as to be able to provide in most cases without difficulty for the local conditions existing when a curtain pulling device is to be installed.

It is convenient for the reversing casing 4 to be mounted on the end of the rail 3 and clamped fast by means of a slotted block 26 and two screws 28 passing through a slot 27 in the rail (FIGS. 8 and 9), but other methods of fastening are also possible.

As regards the pulling band 6, its two ends which are adjacent and directed towards one another are fastened on respective slider elements which are guided in the slide channel 29 in the rail 3 and are preferably made of plastics material. Each slider element 30 has two pins 31 projecting transversely to the pulling band 6 and inserted in the holes 7 in the latter. Each slider element 30 is also provided with a socket hole 32 disposed transversely to the plane of movement of the band 6 and accessible from outside the rail 3. The two slider elements 30 are joined together by a tensioning bow 33 which appropriately pre-tensions the pulling band 6 elastically, so that the band 6 is essentially an endless pulling element, the bow 33 being provided with lugs 34 which are introduced into the sockets 32 from outside the rail 3. The lugs 34 each have a bentover end 35 engaging behind a shoulder 36 in the socket 32, in order to be secured against slipping out unintentionally. The horizontal portion of the bow 33, situated outside the rail, is in the form of a forwardly projecting support for carrying part of the curtain, particularly the end of the curtain forming its front edge, and is provided with eyes 37; it has a horizontal arm 37 bent out so as to run parallel to the plane in which the adjacent run of the band 6 is guided and making it possible, in the case of two curtains closing in opposite directions, for the front edges of the two curtains to overlap.

A modified form of forwardly projecting support or driver for curtains comprising two parts running in opposite directions is illustrated in FIGS. 11 to 13. It comprises a slider element 38 which is guided in the slide channel 29 of the rail 3 and is preferably made of plastics material. A rotating part 40 of the slider element 38 has a flat handle 39 projecting downwards out of the rail and is rotatable about an axis perpendicular to the plane of movement of the band 6. The rotatable part 40 has a pin 41 projecting perpendicularly to its axis and intended for engagement in one of the holes 7 in the band. In the position of engagement of the pin 41 in the pulling band 6, the handle 39 is engaged by its two side edges 42 in grooves 43 in the slider element 38. When the handle 39 is turned out of this locked position into a transverse position, the pin 41 is disengaged from the hole 7 in the band and swung in the direction of the length of the rail 3 so as to engage in a groove 44 in the slider element 38. In this condition the slider element 38 can be removed from or inserted into the slide channel 29 through an insertion aperture 45 provided in the rail 3, even when the latter is in the installed position, and can then be moved to the desired position for connection to the pulling band 6. A curtain end forming a front edge can be suspended in known manner from the handle 39, which is provided with an eye 46. It is convenient for the rotation of the handle 39 on the slider element 38 to be limited by stops 47 to approximately I claim:

1. An electromechanical pulling device for railguided hangings, such as curtains, comprising a driving unit including a drive motor having an output shaft, and gearing associated with said drive motor; supporting unit for a hanging, comprising a guide rail having two ends, a reversing casing provided at least at one of said ends, a pulley mounted in said reversing casing and having a rotatably mounted shaft, and an endless pulling element extending along said guide rail and being trained about said pulley for advancement in response to rotation of the same;

and cooperating coupling portions for releasably coupling said driving unit to said supporting unit, including male coupling heads on one of said units and female coupling apertures provided in the other of said units and ends having a wider portion adapted to receive one of said coupling heads and a narrower portion adapted to engage and prevent withdrawal of the male coupling head inserted through the associated wider portion.

2. A device according to claim 1, and complementary connection means between the gearing and the pulley, comprising a hollow shaft having a non-circular socket into which fits a non-circular plug-in shaft.

3. A device according to claim 1, wherein the driving unit has a drive unit casing which can be connected to the reversing casing, said head comprising a pair of heads disposed on said drive unit casing diametrically opposite one another in relation to the axis of the two shafts and parallel thereto, said apertures being provided in said reversing casing.

4. A device according to claim 3, wherein the apertures extend through the reversing casing and the heads are provided on bolts which project from the driving unit casing and which are each provided with a reduced neck portion, the bolts being adapted to be screwed into respective parallel threaded bores which are spaced apart by 90 on said driving unit casing around the shaft, whereby the driving unit can be connected selectively in one of a plurality of different positions on the upper side or on the lower side of the reversing cas- 5. A device according to claim 4, wherein two projecting wall portions of each aperture, directed towards one another, limit the constriction of each aperture to a width slightly less than the thickness of the reduced neck portion of the bolts and each projecting wall portion has an axial groove in which the neck portion is engaged when the head is in the engaged position.

6. A device according to claim 1, wherein the pulley for the pulling element includes a coaxial slipping clutch disc which carries the non-circular hollow shaft and which is provided on each of two radially resilient portions of its periphery with a projecting part which engages resiliently in radial indentations of an inner rim of the drive pulley.

7. A device according to claim 1, in which the pulling element is constituted by a band perforated at regular intervals along its length; and comprising at least one slider element adapted to be coupled to the band and slidable in a channel in the rail.

8. A device according to claim 7, wherein the slider element has a rotatable part projecting out of the channel, which rotating part is rotatable about an axis perpendicular to the plane of movement of the band and carries a pin projecting perpendicularly to said axis, the arrangement being such that when the rotatable part is turned so that the pin lies parallel to the rail the slider element can slide freely in the latter, whereas when the rotatable part is turned through the pin engages in one of the holes in the band.

9. A device according to claim 8, wherein the rotatable part of the slider element is provided with an operating handle projecting out of the channel and provided with a suspension means for a hanging,'the rotation of the handle being limited to approximately 90.

10. A device according to claim 7, wherein the pulling band has two ends adjacent to one another and connected together to form the endless pulling element, the ends being secured to respective slider elements which are slidable in the channel, each slider element having a socket extending transversely to the plane of movement of the band and accessible from outside the channel, the slider elements being connected by a connecting element having two lugs which are inserted from outside the rail into the sockets in the two slider elements, thereby pre-tensioning the band.

11. A device according to claim 10, wherein the connecting element is formed on a part situated outside the channel and intended for carrying a hanging, and said element has a horizontal arm disposed parallel to the vertical plane in which the adjacent run of the band is guided and intended for carrying an overlapping end of the hanging. 

1. An electromechanical pulling device for rail-guided hangings, such as curtains, comprising a driving unit including a drive motor having an output shaft, and gearing associated with said drive motor; a supporting unit for a hanging, comprising a guide rail having two ends, a reversing casing provided at least at one of said ends, a pulley mounted in said reversing casing and having a rotatably mounted shaft, and an endless pulling element extending along said guide rail and being trained about said pulley for advancement in response to rotation of the same; and cooperating coupling portions for releasably coupling said driving unit to said supporting unit, including male coupling heads on one of said units and female coupling apertures provided in the other of said units and ends having a wider portion adapted to receive one of said coupling heads and a narrower portion adapted to engage and prevent withdrawal of the male coupling head inserted through the associated wider portion.
 2. A device according to claim 1, and complementary connection means between the gearing and the pulley, comprising a hollow shaft having a non-circular socket into which fits a non-circular plug-in shaft.
 3. A device according to claim 1, wherein the driving unit has a drive unit casing which can be connected to the reversing casing, said head comprising a pair of heads disposed on said drive unit casing diametrically opposite one another in relation to the axis of the two shafts and parallel thereto, said apertures being provided in said reversing casing.
 4. A device according to claim 3, wherein the apertures extend through the reversing casing and the heads are provided on bolts which project from the driving unit casing and which are each provided with a reduced neck portion, the bolts being adapted to be screwed into respective parallel threaded bores which are spaced apart by 90* on said driving unit casing around the shaft, whereby the driving unit can be connected selectively in one of a plurality of different positions on the upper side or on the lower side of the reversing casing.
 5. A device according to claim 4, wherein two projecting wall portions of each aperture, directed towards one another, limit the constriction of each aperture to a width slightly less than the thickness of the reduced neck portion of the bolts and each projecting wall portion has an axial groove in which the neck portion is engaged when the head is in the engaged position.
 6. A device according to claim 1, wherein the pulley for the pulling element includes a coaxial slipping clutch disc which carries the non-circular hollow shaft and which is provided on each of two radially resilient portions of its periphery with a projecting part which engages resiliently in radial indentations of an inner rim of the drive pulley.
 7. A device according to claim 1, in which the pulling element is constituted by a band perforated at regular intervals along its length; and comprising at least one slider element adapted to be coupled to the band and slidable in a channel in the rail.
 8. A device according to claim 7, wherein the slider element has a rotatable part projecting out of the channel, which rotating part is rotatable about an axis perpendicular to the plane of movement of the band and carries a pin projecting perpendicularly to sAid axis, the arrangement being such that when the rotatable part is turned so that the pin lies parallel to the rail the slider element can slide freely in the latter, whereas when the rotatable part is turned through 90* the pin engages in one of the holes in the band.
 9. A device according to claim 8, wherein the rotatable part of the slider element is provided with an operating handle projecting out of the channel and provided with a suspension means for a hanging, the rotation of the handle being limited to approximately 90*.
 10. A device according to claim 7, wherein the pulling band has two ends adjacent to one another and connected together to form the endless pulling element, the ends being secured to respective slider elements which are slidable in the channel, each slider element having a socket extending transversely to the plane of movement of the band and accessible from outside the channel, the slider elements being connected by a connecting element having two lugs which are inserted from outside the rail into the sockets in the two slider elements, thereby pre-tensioning the band.
 11. A device according to claim 10, wherein the connecting element is formed on a part situated outside the channel and intended for carrying a hanging, and said element has a horizontal arm disposed parallel to the vertical plane in which the adjacent run of the band is guided and intended for carrying an overlapping end of the hanging. 